Top 15 Regional Showcase finalists announced

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We brought you the story of the outback cop and her gang of joeys, seaside bakeries and teenage entrepreneurs.

More than 100 of our 2018 Regional Showcase stories, written by our pool of regional journalists and shared here on Brand SA News, have uncovered tales of success, creativity, and overcoming diversity.

Now we bring you the Top 15 Regional Showcase articles, decided with the help of you – the general public – as well as program sponsors, local councils and Regional Development Australia (RDA).

All pockets of regional South Australia have been covered, from far north in the outback down to the Fleurieu, over to the east on the Limestone Coast and stretching to the west on the Eyre Peninsula.

The Top 15 stories are now in the running to win one of three 2018 Regional Showcase awards, announced at an annual celebration evening on October 26 at The Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend.

One of the accolades, the People’s Choice Award, has been decided by your votes – 5500 of them – throughout the month of August.

The Business and Community awards judged by program sponsors, local councils and the RDA, will also be announced on the night.

Brand South Australia CEO Karen Raffen says this year’s program is shaping up to be another success.

“The number of votes received shows that people are passionate about the great work happening in our regions,” she says.

This Mid North community group has worked hard in recent years to beautify the sleepy town of Brinkworth, raising money for the upgrade of visitor amenities, the town hall, camping grounds, playgrounds and walking trails.

Brinkworth had a population of 401 people in 2006, plummeting to just 188 in 2011, before creeping back up to 285 in 2016. Could it be the efforts of local volunteers drawing people back in? Read the story.

Carolyn’s Chemo Caps

Strathalbyn woman Carolyn Mugford is behind Carolyn’s Chemo Caps, special headwear for women who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy.

In the past five year’s she and her team of volunteers have made and delivered 10,000 chemo caps to oncology units in hopsitals across SA and VIC.

Carolyn made her first chemo cap in 2011 to hide her bald and sensitive scalp while undergoing cancer treatment herself. Read the story.

C3 Church Adelaide Hills

The Hahndorf Christkindlmarkt, run by the C3 Church Adelaide Hills, has drawn 90,000 visitors to the old German town’s main street to enjoy a European Christmas market atmosphere.

Now in its seventh year, the Christkindlmarkt held every December is run by volunteers. Read the story.

Clare Valley Enterprises

Clare Valley and Barossa Enterprises is the largest regional employer of people with disabilities, with its workers constructing custom made wooden labelled boxes for the wine industry.

Now the Clare Valley side of the business is looking to double its output and its workforce, following the opening of a new workshop there. Read the story.

Cowell Electric

Eyre Peninsula business Cowell Electric has managed power station and distribution networks for decades, providing thousands of customers in more than a dozen remote towns with electricity.

Cowell Electric has gone through ups and downs in its time, but in 2016 celebrated a major win – a $20m State Government contract to supply electricity within the APY Lands.

Recently, it was reported that the business has been taken over by local engineering and construction group Ahrens with managing director Sue Chase leaving the company for which she had helped create new fortunes. Read the story.

Goolwa Bakery

The Goolwa Bakery on the Fleurieu Peninsula is chasing new ventures by preparing to export its pies and pasties to Asia.

Owner Ben Hage will send batches of pepper pies and pastries to Singapore in 2019, and is also in discussions with a Singaporean grocery retailer.

It’s a big move for the country town bakery which has fed hungry locals and tourists in Goolwa for 105 years.

This family-owned business in Booleroo Centre in the state’s Far North is striving to help fire up the local economy by expanding its services and supporting job creation.

While two mechanic workshops and two bank branches have shut their doors in the past five years, Flinders Machinery has helped pick up the slack, extending its workshop to allow for servicing of the town’s vehicles.

Naracoorte man Hafeezullah Haidari runs a small Indian restaurant in Naracoorte. He came to Australia in 2013 after fleeing persecution in Pakistan.

He has rebuilt his life in the South East, and aside from running the restaurant, he gives back to the community that took him in by cooking free meals for the local CFS during bushfires, and also trains local students in hospitality.